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Legal and policy analyst Kofi Bentil has cautioned President John Mahama against underestimating the fight against illegal small-scale mining (galamsey), urging him to adopt a more comprehensive and aggressive approach beyond mere rhetoric.
Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews on Saturday, February 8, Bentil emphasised that past efforts to tackle galamsey have failed due to the complex and deep-rooted nature of the issue, which goes beyond simple law enforcement.
“Gold is a spirit, and from time immemorial, it makes men mad. If you know the stories of the Wild West, people killed and died for gold. So when you see people risking their lives to go after this, and we think that we can just treat it as a simple law enforcement issue, that’s where the problem is,” he stated.
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His remarks come in response to President Mahama’s recent commitment to intensifying the fight against illegal mining, a promise he renewed earlier this week.
Bentil underscored the dangerous realities of illegal mining, pointing out that individuals are willing to kill and die for gold.
He expressed deep concern over the hazardous conditions many miners face, particularly their exposure to toxic chemicals.
“People are doing things in pursuit of this gold that will affect them, their children, and their grandchildren. People don’t appreciate the kind of dangers they themselves are involved in. We should take this thing more seriously than we have done so far and deal with it,” he urged.
He cited reports of miners handling mercury with their bare hands, oblivious to the severe long-term health consequences.
Beyond stopping illegal mining, Bentil criticised Ghana’s failure to focus on land restoration, arguing that environmental recovery must be an integral part of the fight against galamsey.
“We have not taken recovery seriously enough. We are treating stopping galamsey as the main thing to do. Maybe we will not stop galamsey in the next 10 years, but we should have a national plan for the recovery of these lands,” he stated.
He proposed a multi-faceted approach involving stricter enforcement, sustainable environmental rehabilitation, and alternative livelihoods for those who depend on illegal mining.
While Bentil wished the president success, he insisted that without a more comprehensive and determined strategy, Mahama’s administration risks repeating the failures of the past.
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